Perspective | A doctor tried to renew his passport. Now he’s no longer a citizen.
www.washingtonpost.com
A Northern Virginia doctor was born in D.C. and given a U.S. birth certificate. At 61, he learned his citizenship was granted by mistake.

The Northern Virginia doctor knows at least that much about his situation. He knows he is no longer considered a citizen of the United States — the place where he was born, went to school and has practiced medicine for more than 30 years — and that he also belongs to no other place.

A letter from a State Department official informed him that he should not have been granted citizenship at the time of his birth because his father was a diplomat with the Embassy of Iran. The letter directed Sobhani to a website where he could apply for lawful permanent residence.

  • TheShadowKnows@lemmy.world
    101·
    1 year ago

    You are correct that the US is more xenophobic than the government depicted in StarShip Troopers. That being said the US isn’t the government on display in either the movie or book, it is the Terran Federation. The Terran Federation also isn’t fascist. It is a secular militaristic limited democracy. Every single person who wishes to become a citizen may do so through voluntary service. Unlike our current military recruitment which limits based on country of origin, physical ability, and other qualifiers anyone can join. Stephan Hawkings would have been turned down for service in America, while the Terran Federation would have found a place for him. There are also harsher judicial punishments for those who gain citizenship if they break the law than non-citizens so that citizenships is a privilege and a duty. This hierarchy diminishes the strength of oligarchy, because money has no bearing on voting. Only those who display and demonstrate their true public service affect how the federation operates. Many people who read the book come away thinking that Heinlein was some fascist militarist, but they overlook his criticism of the hypothetical system of government he proposes in the book. He was a Navy officer before being a writer and his righting reflects his admiration for his families long history of public service. There are thinly veiled critiques of the military throughout that my go unnoticed by non-veterans. The psychological manipulation of Rico is definitely something that Heinlein hammers. The movie recast the Phillipino Rico for the hyper Caucasian Casper Van Dien, so while the movie was trying to critique the book if fell flatly on its face white washing the diversity on display in the book, it also more than the book enhances the glory of blind militarism, while is not the type of militarism from the book. All in all both the movie and book’s Terran Federation are forms of government that are better than the shadow fascist oligarchical governments that we enjoy across multiple countries in 2023.

    • orrk@lemmy.world
      62·
      1 year ago

      So, the Terran Federation from starship troopers is Extremely fascist, it basically covers all the bases of ur-fascism.

      The “failed government structure” was Democracy as it let the weak willed get in the way of a “proper” society, literally a repeat of the weak men bad times strongmen good times bullshit.

      As for your portrayal of being anti-oligarchical, the government they propose is by definition an oligarchy.

      And let’s not even get into shit like only members of the party franchised individuals can be teachers.

      basically, you have fallen for the blurring of the media between the book and movie, because Heinlein WAS a fascist in real life

      • cyruseuros@lemmy.ml
        3·
        1 year ago

        I’ve only really spent 2 minutes looking at the man’s wikipedia page to check for any obvious clues but I couldn’t find any.

        Sauce for him being a fascist please? Because that’s a pretty heavy accusation to throw at someone, living or dead.

        • DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
          51·
          1 year ago

          He saw a Reddit comment once. Heinlein was a militarist liberal, mostly due to his service in the US Navy fighting, you know, actual fascists.

          Probably would be considered a neoliberal at the end of his life, as like anyone his views changed over time. He even ran for office as a Democrat in the Reagan years.

        • orrk@lemmy.world
          1·
          1 year ago

          a few nice quotes:

          anti-intelectual

          A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

          nationalism/body Politics:

          It is a bad sign when the people of a country stop identifying themselves with the country and start identifying with a group. A racial group. Or a religion. Or a language. Anything, as long as it isn’t the whole population.

          Appeal to tradition:

          A dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot.

          maybe some contempt of the weak and pacifism is trafficking with the enemy (a two-fer!):

          Anyone who clings to the historically untrue-and thoroughly immoral-doctrine that, ‘violence never settles anything’ I would advise to conjure the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedom.

          maybe some (not inherently racialized) Ubermench philosophy along with some selective populism?:

          Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.

          tho, I quite like the Appeal to some aristocratic ruling class of your betters:

          Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty. This is known as "bad luck.

          or hey, maybe some straight-up anti-democratic rhetoric:

          Democracy is four wolves and a sheep voting on dinner.

          Obsessions with plots:

          It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creeds into law if it acquires the political power to do so, and will follow it by suppressing opposition, subverting all education to seize early the minds of the young, and by killing, locking up, or driving underground all heretics.

          Machosim:

          Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.

          a bit more rejection of modernism:

          There are two ways of forming an opinion. One is the scientific method; the other, the scholastic. To the scientific mind, experimental proof is all-important, and theory is merely a convenience in description, to be junked when it no longer fits. To the academic mind, authority is everything, and facts are junked when they do not fit theory.

          oh let’s not forget this gem, that comes from his book advocating for a gun based Social Darwinism Eugenics (yes the argument was that smart people would survive and thus out produce the “stupid”):

          An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.

          or this one:

          The greatest fallacy of democracy is that everyone’s opinion is worth the same.

          do you want more, they are surprisingly easy to find from a guy who authored a book advocating for a “strong” indoctrinated military oligarchy to replace the Democracy dragged down by the “weak”